Kaspersky Anti-Virus (2015) made a clean sweep, earning top marks from all of the independent antivirus test labs. It's a new Editors' Choice for antivirus protection.

By Neil J. RubenkingMalicious URL Blocking As noted, my fixed set of samples may become easier to detect over time. Not so the feed of malicious URLs kindly supplied by MRG-Effitas. These URLs are extremely new, rarely more than four hours old.

Running this test is simple, if time-consuming. I simply try to launch each URL and record how the antivirus reacts. If it blocks all access to the URL, that's great. If the malicious executable managed to download but was then wiped out by antivirus, that's fine too. Sometimes, though, the download finishes with no response from the antivirus. I keep trying until I have data for about 100 working URLs. It almost goes without saying that I turn off the browser's own protection against malicious URLs.

Kaspersky managed to block access to 10 percent of the URLs, but it didn't eliminate any downloaded files. That's quite a bit below the current average of 33 percent blocking. At 18 percent, Bitdefender also came in low. Of the two dozen products I've put through this test, the surprise winner is avast! Free Antivirus 2014, with 79 percent blocked.

It's true that this test only exercises the antivirus's ability to detect malicious URLs and detect malware by signature. Many of the independent lab tests exercise all of the product's features.

Impressive Phishing DetectionMatching a URL against a list of known malware-hosting sites is simple. Detecting fraudulent (phishing) websites is another story. Phishing sites generally remain active for just a few days, or even just a few hours; by the time they get on a list, they may be gone. An effective antiphishing filter needs to check website content, looking for signs that the site is a fraud.

My antiphishing test is simple enough. I gather a collection of very fresh suspected phishing URLs from sites that track such things. I attempt to launch each URL in several different browsers, including one protected by the product in question and one protected by Norton, a consistent antiphishing success story. If any of the browsers can't connect, I discard that URL. And if there's no blatant attempt to steal user credentials, once again I discard it.

Starting with Bitdefender and Kaspersky, I've expanded this test to include the built-in phishing protection of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome. As time goes on, the chart of results will include more browser-specific information.

Among recent programs, 90 percent lagged behind Norton in their phishing detection rate, some of them abysmally. Kaspersky is one of the rare programs with a detection rate better than Norton's, by a single percentage point. It beat Chrome by 3 points, Firefox by 9 points, and Internet Explorer by 26 points. That's an impressive showing!

Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus (2014) managed a detection rate 2 percentage points better than Norton's, and Bitdefender tops the list, ahead by 5 points. It's true that the actual phishing URLs are different every time, but they're always the very newest.

Additional ToolsKaspersky Anti-Virus definitely has a strong focus on the essential tasks of antivirus software, but it does offer some additional tools that can prove useful. It can scan for vulnerabilities in the operating system or installed programs, and can even fix them automatically. A browser configuration checker will tighten up your security by correcting any erroneous settings. The Privacy Cleaner will seek and eliminate traces of your computer and browsing history. Another scanner can fix system configuration changes made by malware.

If malware gets past the antivirus and takes over your system, or if you're attempting to clean up a system that doesn't yet have protection, the bootable Kaspersky Rescue Disk will come in handy. The time to download and burn this disk is before you actually need it, of course. Choosing the Cloud Protection menu option brings up a statistics report for the Kaspersky Security Network, a global database of known safe and dangerous items.

Can't Argue With the Labs This product didn't earn amazing scores in my simple hands-on tests, but it took the absolute top score across the board with all of the independent labs that I follow. Given the massive resources applied by the labs, I can't ignore that impressive showing. The well laid-out interface and useful bonus features don't hurt. Kaspersky Anti-Virus (2015) joins the pantheon of antivirus Editors' Choice products, along with Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015, Norton AntiVirus (2014), and Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus (2014).

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